Strawberries Will Save the World

Japanese director Yoko Okumura’s Strawberries Will Save the World is a short and whimsical documentary that takes viewers into the life of Yuko Okumura, an avid strawberry enthusiast and the director’s own mother. Yoko’s main instruction to her production team was to make the film “Make it cute. Make it really really cute! ” Strawberry mugs, strawberry socks, strawberry glasses, strawberry spatula, and even a strawberry-related chatroom – Yuko’s life and home is filled to the brim with anything and everything strawberry related. In Japanese, the word for strawberry is ichigo, which can be dissected into ichi (meaning one) and go (meaning five). As a result, the number 15 is considered to be related to the fruit. And whether it’s checking the time or driving around, Yuko feels like the number 15 shows up everywhere she goes even though she’s not looking for it. This became affirmation that, all along, it wasn’t her searching for strawberries – strawberries are naturally drawn to her.

The internet has allowed Yuko to connect with other like-minded strawberry lovers and share her impressive collection with them. She’s now a member of a Japanese association of strawberry enthusiasts and is even brainstorming on how to shoot an entire movie about strawberries. As this simple fruit has brought so much joy to her own life, Yuko feels compelled to spread this same happiness to more people around the world. Watch the documentary above to see how Yuko plans to channel more positivity into the world with the power of strawberries.